Ellu Gallery show to benefit special needs children

Ellu Gallery visitors take in the many varied painting, sculpture, and other art pieces during the Skate-Lives-Culture Art show on display now at gallery's location off of Idaho-Maryland Road.Elias Funez/efunez@theunion.com

Skateboarding and fine art don’t always mix, that is, unless you’re at the Ellu Gallery where the Skate-Lives-Culture Art show is currently on display through this weekend.

The large scale contemporary art, sculpture, and zen surrealism co-op gallery space at 342 Idaho Maryland Road was bustling with the sights and sounds of artists, enthusiasts and skateboarders co-mingling during last Thursday’s gallery opening of the show.

“We wanted to utilize skateboarding to open up and connect with the community,” Ellu Gallery artist Ryan McVay said.

“Most of the art we do here we try to create interactive art projects that the community can connect with.”

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During the show’s opening, members of the community could be seen taking turns helping to paint a wall mural of Frida Kahlo, exploring the more than 4,000-square-feet of artist space, taking to the wooden skateboard ramps, or enjoying a bite to eat from a local taco truck.

The event was put together with help from Good Times skateboard shop, with a portion of the proceeds going to the nonprofit SkateMD, Healing Hearts through Skateboarding.

SkateMD’s stated goal is to hold skate clinics for special populations of children facing developmental, physical, emotional or family challenges.

SkateMD’s founders Andrea Bibelheimer and Melanie Tillotson hail from Auburn and Grass Valley, though hold the majority of their skate clinics in the Sacramento region and are always looking for more volunteers.

“It’s awesome that Ellu Gallery was able to donate to us given that we have local roots,” SkateMD co-founder Andrea Bibelheimer said.

Work from guest artists including Jenny Sampson, Israel Forbes, Ian Fuenzalida, Ruth Chase, Chad Dugas, MeMe Graffiti, James Gray, George Rocha and Ursula X Young are on display.

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